Sauerkraut, cooked with your own hands according to a proven recipe, always turns out to be the most delicious. The only minus of the dish is that they cannot eat on the day of preparation, because it is fully ready only after a few days.
Pick your recipe
So that the cabbage is fermented / salted, while not souring, and it could be removed in a cool place for storage, it is important to correctly conduct the fermentation procedure. As for the timing when a vegetable can already be eaten, this factor depends on three components:
- varieties of cabbage;
- the amount of salt;
- temperature condition.
Now a little more detail about each factor. So, for ripening late ripe vegetables are best suited, the ideal option is white cabbage of rounded flattened varieties. The fact is that these varieties are the most juicy, when pickled, they secrete a lot of juice.
Salt is an important component in salting, because the taste of the finished product, the duration of its storage, depends on its quantity. It is believed that the most optimal amount of salt for fermentation is 2% of the weight of cabbage, that is, for one kilogram of chopped vegetables, it is best to take 20 grams of salt (about a tablespoon).
As for the temperature regime, the pickling proceeds best at room temperature of 20-22 degrees. Exposure at higher or lower temperatures can adversely affect the product, and in some cases completely ruin the food. Usually, if all three of the above factors are met, then after 5-6 days, the cabbage is ready for use, it can be stored in the cold. Checking the readiness of the product is quite simple - you need to put a little cabbage in a bowl and try it, if it has a salty-sourish flavor, and it crunches, then it should be left for three hours at room temperature without brine. A fully fermented cabbage will remain just as crispy.